FT8 – Tipping Point for Ham Radio?

interface all the hardware and software correctly then come back and tell us how easy it was.

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Hams have been interfacing computer sound cards with their radios since the 1990s. Maybe even earlier. Digipan was released in 1998 I believe, and there were hams experimenting with sound cards earlier than that.

So you are embracing old technology?

Since the late 1990s, it's never been "rocket science". The early adopters had to know a little about audio impedance matching, and how to generate a PTT signal, and home-build a circuit. But nowadays it's all been pre-packaged into devices such as Signalink, and I guess some radios even come with all that already built in. Plug and Play!

As long as "boring" floats your boat, FT8 will likely bring a lot of hams in. But my fear is once they see what a few hours of FT8 "operating" is really like, I suspect they'll quickly fade away.

For myself, if all there was for modes was FT8, my radios would be for sale right now

Dave
W7UUU

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I agree. I spend about an hour or so on FT8 to get my 5-10 contacts and then move to a different mode. Anything more than an hour and all you see at times are the same call sign calling CQ. Its fun for an hour or so then the fun quickly fades.

Hams have been interfacing computer sound cards with their radios since the 1990s. Maybe even earlier. Digipan was released in 1998 I believe, and there were hams experimenting with sound cards earlier than that.

So you are embracing old technology?

Since the late 1990s, it's never been "rocket science". The early adopters had to know a little about audio impedance matching, and how to generate a PTT signal, and home-build a circuit. But nowadays it's all been pre-packaged into devices such as Signalink, and I guess some radios even come with all that already built in. Plug and Play!

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Wanna talk boring?
Another person giving me the useless explanation on how "it used to be"
Don't like what's on tv? Change the channel. That's what I'm going to do on this topic. Bye

DAMN !!! I'M NOT SHOUTING, I JUST LIKE USING CAPITAL LETTERS, GEEEZ OB DON'T GET UR "PANTIES" IN A BUNCH, BESIDES WHO DESCRIBED USING CAPS AS SHOUTING??? THAT'S REALLY LAME!!! AS WE'LL CONTINUE TO USE (WHATEVER CASE) WE "DAMN-WELL" PLEASE!!!

I was recently operating from Greece on a portable antenna with poor band conditions. Without FT8 there would have been no ham radio fun at all. I made two contacts to North America and was thrilled. Also several to Japan and one to Cambodia. I hope next summer the bands will pick up and I'll have even more luck into North America.